Strolling the 200-mile Coast to Coast Path in England

Stroll throughout England? The thought intrigued my spouse, Ann, and I. We had not too long ago wrapped up our careers and long-distance scenic mountaineering was turning into a satisfying retirement exercise. We accepted the problem, packed our luggage, and flew to London.

The path, known as the Coast to Coast Stroll, is a longtime nationwide pathway that stretches from Saint Bees, a village on the western seaboard, to Robin Hood’s Bay, on the east coast. The 190-mile path traverses three nationwide parks and is likely one of the hottest long-distance hikes in England.

The itinerary we researched on-line laid out our path in sections, all however one ending at a village with lodging and a pub. We gave ourselves two weeks to cowl the space.

Our trek started at Saint Bees, surrounded by inexperienced pastures, rocky seashores, and lightweight brown bluffs. Ann and I walked alongside the seashore because the waves of the Irish Sea lapped alongside us. In step with a practice related to the stroll, I picked up a seashore pebble and put it in my pocket, intending to hold it cross-country and depositing it on the shore of the North Sea.

We climbed Saint Bees Head, following a reddish-brown footpath, and had been rewarded with a commanding view of the coast earlier than continuing to make our technique to the Lake District.

Lake District Nationwide Park

The Coast to Coast Stroll affords diverse surroundings and routes: dust trails by way of the forest, gravel pathways, stone walkways, lakeside footpaths, and, often, a rustic highway.

I used to be struck by how lush the countryside was: inexperienced meadows, forests, and hillsides.

We walked beside historic stone partitions separating pastureland, a few of the partitions traversing hills and valleys, typically forming a patchwork. I imagined the work concerned in constructing these rock partitions, as my eye adopted them over one hill, then one other, then one other.

We hiked alongside Ennerdale Water, the westernmost lake within the district. Climbing above Ennerdale’s rocky shoreline, we had been within the land of author Beatrix Potter, and it felt magical. We continued to achieve altitude and will see the ribbon-like path rising forward of us and crossing the subsequent hill, and the subsequent. The climbing felt gradual, however once we stopped and seemed again, we had been struck by the view,  recognizing picturesque upland lakes tucked in between hills, turning 360 levels to take all of it in.

I understood why the Lake District is likely one of the hottest locations for Brits when they need an in-country vacation. We skirted extra mountain lakes and commenced our descent towards the Dales.

Yorkshire Dales Nationwide Park

My thoughts’s eye image of rural England is formed by films comparable to “Pleasure & Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility.” I imagined expansive emerald landscapes rising and falling within the distance, and that is precisely what Yorkshire Dales introduced: rolling inexperienced hills with pastoral dales in between.

The nationwide park is characterised by gently rising hills with low-growing vegetation, in addition to forested areas the place stone bridges arch over small rivers. The path meandered alongside creeks and the occasional waterfall. We noticed extra farmland, the view within the distance showing like a quilt with completely different shades of inexperienced.

Ann and I crossed various sheep pastures, opening wood gates or scaling low stone partitions to the sound of an ewe calling after her child sheep.

The Coast to Coast Stroll avoids cities, and the villages we did encounter felt quaint, full with postcard-worthy properties that includes stone partitions and slate roofs. The transition would take me unexpectedly. One second Ann and I had been mountaineering by way of a forest or meadow, then abruptly navigating a paved avenue. It was civilization, however on a small scale.

The terrain started to flatten, permitting us to see even additional into the space: We had been coming into the Moors.

North York Moors Nationwide Park

The low-growing vegetation attribute of the Moors is gray-green, rust-brown, and even purple in locations. There are grasses, mosses, and several types of heather: vegetation that do nicely in peat soil, alternating with forested areas.

Our lodgings on the path tended to be small nation inns, properties providing bed-and-breakfasts, or pubs with upstairs rooms, which made it simple to fulfill different vacationers—some from Britain, others from overseas. After a day of mountaineering, Ann and I might take pleasure in a pint in a neighborhood pub, seated amongst locals whom we might invariably meet. These pubs had been pleasant, low-lit locations sometimes sporting indicators that learn, “Households and four-legged mates welcome.”

Staying at a bed-and-breakfast typically meant spending the night time in somebody’s house, so the expertise—the way in which we had been greeted, how we had been sorted—felt extra intimate and private than staying at a resort in London. One other down-home characteristic was the choice of shopping for a packed hiker’s lunch the subsequent morning earlier than we began.

Experiencing the English countryside additionally means sampling a full English breakfast, referred to as a fry-up. The complete breakfast sometimes included eggs, toast, tea, an assortment of meat, and sides of baked beans, stewed or fried tomatoes, and mushrooms. I used to be impressed, however with a full day of mountaineering forward of us, we tended to chop again a bit on the breakfasts.

Ann and I continued mountaineering eastward till, off within the distance, we noticed the North Sea. With emotions of reduction and triumph, I reached into my pocket and felt the stone. We hiked alongside steep, magnificent cliffs, which angled right down to the seashore, approaching Robin Hood’s Bay, the tip of our journey. We did it.

Trying again, we skilled an exquisite number of landscapes crossing the width of northern England and, upon reaching the east coast, felt an actual sense of accomplishment whereas gazing out over the North Sea.